NOTES ON THE APOCALYPSE

Historical Background

1. The Book of Revelation was probably written by the Apostle John - who also wrote the Fourth Gospel and the three Letters which bear his name - around the year 95 while he was exiled on Patmos.

2. Revelation is addressed to "the seven churches which are in Asia" (modern-day Turkey). By applications these represent the entire Catholic Church.

3. The problems which plagued these Christians are not much different from the problems of our day: Their churches were well-established and they were beginning to grow lazy in the exercise of their faith. They were threatened by terrible persecution because they refused to practice the religion of the Roman Empire (some of these cities even had magnificent temples to pagan gods). They were being tempted away from the faith by false Christian teachings as well as by the attraction of paganism. Most of these cities were wealthy commercial centers, so careers and other worldly concerns were drawing believers away from the church also.

4. The times leading up to the writing of Revelation were very turbulent. The first great Roman persecution of the Church began in A.D. 64 under the Emperor Nero. Jewish rebellion in Palestine had resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and its beautiful Temple in A.D. 70. Natural disasters - volcano, fire and disease - also plagued the Empire. Many people must have thought the end of the world was upon them. When Domitian came to power in A.D. 81, he proclaimed himself "Lord and God," the first emperor to do so, and demanded divine worship from his people. It was because of his hatred of Christianity that the Feat Apostle John was sent into exile on the little Greek island of Patmos.

5. The purpose of the Book of Revelation was to encourage the fearful and weakening

believers to hold fast until the end. Although terrible things are happening and will happen . . . although the prince of this world, Satan, and the power of evil seem to have the upper hand for a time, Jesus Christ - the true Lord and God - will be victorious. In the ends evil will be destroyed and the peace of God’s reign will be established for ever.

Interpretation

6. There are four main approaches to interpreting the Book of Revelation:

a. The book is a symbolic history of the Church. Seven periods are identifiers with the last being a literal 1,000-year reign before the end of the world. This was widespread during the early centuries of the Church, and is popular today among some Protestant sects.

b. The book is only a coded description of events in John’s own time. Rationalist interpreters (those who deny the miraculous and supernatural) use this approach.

c. The book is exclusively a premonition of the end of the world’, it has no reference to the age in which it was written. This approach was popular in the eighteenth century and still has some adherents today.

d. Revelation is a theological vision of the entire panorama of history, although not a strictly chronological one. It describes not only the situation in John’s own time, but also conditions throughout the Church’s history and a foreshadowing of things to come. Its spiritual message - perseverance in the midst of trial and the ultimate triumph of Christ – is all-important because it applies to Christians in all ages. This is the approach taken by most of the church Fathers and is the one favored by conservative Catholic scholars today.

Style and Symbolism

7. Revelation is written in the style of apocalyptic literature, of which there are many examples from this period. The main characteristics of this genre are: (a) the subject matter is the last age of the world, when good will triumph and evil be destroyed’, and (b) the extensive use of symbolism, which serves as a kind of code to depict past and present history and to foretell the future. Unlike the Old Testament Prophets, apocalyptic writers liked to use pseudonyms, taking the name of a famous person (like Noah or one of the Apostles) in order to lend their work authority. Also, they tended to be rather fatalistic: this is what’s going to happen and there’s not much we can do about it. The Prophets, on the other hand, always offered the option of repentance and good works to change the course of events. In this way, Revelation is more like the Prophets: If you hold fast to the end, then you will be saved."

8. Revelation borrows much of its imagery and language from the prophetic and apocalyptic writings of the Old Testament, especially the books of Daniel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Also there are allusions to some of our Lord’s words in the Gospels concerning the end times.

9. The symbolism of Revelation is extremely rich and varied: everything is described symbolically. Sometimes the symbols are explained, but usually the reader is left to ponder their hidden meaning. In any case, the symbols always leave a strong impression on the mind, even when we can’t attach a concrete explanation to every detail.

10. Many symbols have multiple levels of meaning. For example, the Woman clothed with the sun (eh. 12) is taken to symbolize the Virgin Mary. But Mary, in her turn, stands for the Church. Similarly, the First-century readers of this book would have understood the Beast of chapter 13 to signify Nero. But Nero is a type of all world rulers who oppress the Church, and especially of the Antichrist who is yet to come and establish his false messianic kingdom.

11. The symbols fall into five main categories: (1) Physical objects, including persons and animals; (2) actions; (3) cities and other places; (4) numbers; and (5) colors.

12. To try and explain all the symbols here would be impossible. But some of the more predominant ones can be mentioned:

• Numbers: Three refers to things supernatural and divine; four to created things; six to humanity; seven and twelve to completion, fullness, perfection (twelve also recalls to mind the people of God: the twelve tribes of israel and the twelve Apostles of the Church). The number 1,000 signifies eternity or any huge, innumerable amount. Note that multiples of these basic numbers also appear throughout the book (for example 144,000 = 12 x 12 x 1,000 which could mean all the people of God).
• Colors: White stands for victory and purity,’ red for violence and wad-area’ black for death.
• The Lamb: Jesus Christ, the sacrificial "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1 :29), crucified and risen again.
• The Scroll with Seven Seals: God’s hidden plan of salvation which can only be revealed by Christ. A seal was used to ratify a legal document and to give it royal authority. Seven seals suggests that this is a perfect plan, that it fulfills all of history. The first six seals represent the "Last Days" of human history, which began with the first Advent of Christ - the age in which we are now living. Throughout this period, persecution, natural disaster, war, famine, disease and death are permitted (though not directly caused) by God in order to humble man and bring him to repentance and salvation. The breaking of the seals represents the gradual unfolding of God’s plan throughout history:

1^st Seal: The White Horseman - Christ, the conquering Hero, who heralds the last days by His victorious death and resurrection. He is the Forerunner of all the events which are to follow.

2^nd Seal: The Red Horseman - Warfare.

3^rd Seal: The Black Horseman - Famine.

4^th Seal: The Pale Horseman - Plague and Death.

5^th Seal: The souls of the martyrs in heaven, praying to God for justice.

6^th Seal: Natural disaster,’ specifically, a unique, cataclysmic unleashing of the forces of nature just before the Second Coming of Christ.

7^th Seal: Silence (anticipation of a great event) then the Seven Trumpets.

Between the 6^th and 7^th Seals, John is given a vision of God’s chosen people - Jews and Gentile Christians - rejoicing in heaven. This is to signify that the faithful will be protected by God from what is to come.

The Seven Trumpets: The temporary triumph of evil in the world. Just before the final judgment, Satan is permitted a free hand in the world. He causes great destruction, then sets himself up as a messiah, establishing world dominion and a false and idolatrous religion (represented by the Roman Empire which is given the code names, Babylon and The Great Harlot).

The Seven Bowls: Introduced by the 7^th Trumpet, the Seven Bowls represent the outpouring of God’s wrath on sinful humanity just before He establishes His eternal kingdom.

The Final Vision of John (19:1-22:5): This could be interpreted as a "recap" of the entire book, using slightly different imagery. Or, it could refer to further eschatalogical events in addition to what has already been related.